


Seeing All That Matters

by LokoteiBex



Series: Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 [4]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: Blind Dark Prince Eugene AU, F/M, Kingdon Dance redux, Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 (Disney)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-29
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25594360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokoteiBex/pseuds/LokoteiBex
Summary: When the blind prince of the Dark Kingdom takes Rapunzel to enjoy Corona's festivities on her 18th birthday, he doesn't expect her to open his eyes in quite this way...
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel
Series: Rapunzel Appreciation Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1850176
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Seeing All That Matters

**Author's Note:**

> Rapunzel Appreciation Week Day 4 - AU

Eugene was a fascinating person, Rapunzel was discovering. How did someone navigate the world without sight? They walked through the bustling kingdom together, hand in hand. Though neither of them knew where they were going, the fact that he could only see her meant that if he just followed her, he’d run into other people and even objects! She was sorry that he’d lost his walking stick in the river, and since that was her fault (or as much her fault as anything), she took it upon herself to guide him. So she held his hand as they walked along, thinking nothing of it.

“On our right, there’s a kind of… table thing? It has an umbrella opened, for shade I imagine,” she explained. “There’s a man and all these boxes propped up at angles, and each box has a different kind of fruit in it!”

“A grocer,” Eugene smiled. “Probably a farmer, too.”

“You mean he grew all that food himself?”

“Most likely.”

This was a fun game! She would describe something to him, and he’d explain to her what it was she was seeing. They were both learning!

“There’s an open bit of street ahead, and-- oh! People are drawing all over the ground in colored chalk!” Eugene paused a moment in thought, and his hesitation caused him to pull back on her hand a little. Rapunzel turned, trying to read his expression. It was thoughtful, but his emotions were guarded. “What is it?” she wondered.

“You told me you’re an artist,” he pointed out. “Would you like to join them?”

“Oh! N-no, it’s okay. I’m not going to just leave you on the sidelines while I have fun.”

“Rapunzel, it’s your birthday. You should get to enjoy yourself. Besides, I’ll be having fun, too, watching you.” He smiled gently at her, and Rapunzel was shocked that it made her heart speed up to see. “Just describe to me what you’re drawing, just like you are with everything else. I like hearing you talk.”

That was a new one. No one had ever told her they liked hearing her talk before. Mother usually wanted her to talk a lot less than she was inclined to. It made her feel good, validated, and as she borrowed a selection of chalks, she quietly confessed, “I like hearing you talk, too.”

She liked hearing about the kingdom he came from, and about what it was like to see with reflections in imperfect stone. She liked observing how sharp his senses were, too, but if she was honest, he looked a little bit haggard. He’d already commented more than once that there were way more people here than he was used to. The constant crowd noise was almost deafening to honed ears. She realized as she set chalk to pavement that this area was a little calmer, and maybe he was also enjoying himself now because there was less to overstimulate him.

“I’m going to draw the kingdom’s sun crest,” she announced to him. “But of course, I’m going to be putting my own spin on it.”

“Of course!” he mused. “What colors are you using?”

“Purple, mostly, but I’ll add others as the inspiration strikes me.” She was already beginning, putting broad strokes on the ground to shape out what she was envisioning.

“You don’t plan your art out in advance?”

“I do! Sort of. I know what I want it to look like,  _ basically _ . But the detail shifts as I work on it.” She liked this, having someone new to talk to while she worked. She’d always been able to talk to Pascal, but Pascal didn’t talk back in anything more than squeaks and gestures. There wasn’t a lot of back and forth like this.

“You’re moving farther away than I expected,” he noted. “How big are you planning to make this thing?”

“Big,” she grinned up at him. “I need it to be as big as my joy!” She missed the look he gave her, soft, adoring, and even if she’d seen it, she might not have interpreted it correctly.

After a few minutes of drawing quietly - he didn’t pester her every moment, wanting her to be able to concentrate - she was the first to speak up. “What does drawing with chalk sound like?”

Eugene blinked a few times, surprised and delighted by the question. No one had ever taken such an interest in the nuances of his very existence before her.

“Well… there’s the soft tapping of the chalk when it makes contact, but there’s also the sound of the lines being drawn. It’s not really scratching, and it’s not really squeaking, but it’s something like that, only softer. It’s a very chalky sound, though. I’ve never heard anything quite like chalk.” And though she didn’t ask, he launched into his other senses. “Chalk has a very distinctive smell, too. It’s earthy and dusty, and it clings in my nose. Not that it’s a bad thing exactly, but some smells go away pretty quickly. Chalk stays with me.”

“Did you know chalk is a natural substance?” Rapunzel asked. “It’s made of the remains of teeny tiny seashells. Whole oceans of life laid dormant underground until someone turns it into art. Then, it can live again.” She sat back on her heels to examine her work so far. “It’s also a really good paint base, if you grind it up and add, like, water to it.”

The morning went on like that, Rapunzel churning out a magnificent chalk drawing and describing it to Eugene, and him talking about things like being able to identify individual voices in the crowd and what he imagined the owners of the voices looked like, how the sun felt on his shoulders, the smells from the food vendors as it got closer to lunch, and the sounds of distant music that Rapunzel couldn’t hear.

When the drawing was done, she asked if they could find the music, and he suggested food first. This day was proving to be a test for her, because she wanted to just completely bolt all the time, run over and examine things. And while Eugene didn’t mind being pulled along, she knew she couldn’t snatch him away from everything they were doing while it was half-done, and she couldn’t just leave him alone in the middle of the street. He’d always be able to see her, but he couldn’t see anything else, and with the increasing crowd, it was harder to hear nuances of the environment.

They got lunch with cupcakes as dessert, and then she got distracted by a bookshop. They sat there, heads together, as she poured over atlases, looking at the world this way and exploring his kingdom. She found some books with raised writing, and for the first time in years, Eugene was able to sound out words. He had been an avid reader before, and no amount of reflected viewing made reading suddenly easy again. Even this was difficult, but it was more than he ever expected to experience.

After that, he was sure to follow his ears to the music for her.

The Dark Kingdom had several traditional dances, and Eugene’s feet knew them all. Still, without the ability to see the people around him, he was hesitant to try any of it. But Rapunzel cleared out a small area, drew a chalk line and requested that people keep back from it, then asked him to teach the steps to her. Together, they moved to the music, steps and heartbeats in sync. The afternoon wore on, Rapunzel never wanting to sit still, and Eugene more than happy to keep her happy. And if he was honest, he’d never had more fun in his life.

This was shaping up to be a day neither would ever forget.

~*~*~

See more of my [**Blind Dark Prince Eugene AU**](http://tangledbea.tumblr.com/tagged/Blind%20Dark%20Prince%20AU/chrono)

**Author's Note:**

> Woo, fleshing out more of this AU with this little tidbit. I wanted to showcase how Rapunzel's compassion would still make it easy for him to fall for her, even if he grew up under different circumstances.


End file.
